The GR-HD1 comes with an optical 10x zoom lens and built-in optical image stabilizer. It also uses a newly developed 1/3 inch-type 1.18-million pixel (1.14 million effective pixels) progressive-scan CCD. The GR-HD1 can also record digital stills up 1,280 x 960 pixel resolution to SD cards.

The camcorder's grip section rotates by up to 90 degrees so you can film at low angles without removing your hand from the grip. The grip adjusts its position during filming, enabling more stable filming at all times.

The camcorder offers a FireWire port, a USB port, a headphone-out and a microphone-in port, and an S-video and RCA Video in-out port.